Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
We bought our house in 2014. There is a 20 x 12 outdoor deck made of 2x6 treated wood. It was getting real rough and long story short, I tore it down to the base and have begun replacing all of the boards. The boards are at 45 degree angle and meet on the middle. This has been very difficult. I would have just put straight boards in if I realized what a pain it is and all the waste of wood when they sell for $26 each for 16’ boards.
Anyway, my question
I did the right side completely. The hardest part is where the deck meets the house. I had to cut the boards so they were up against the house. Then I drew a line so that they were about 3/4” from the house. I then had to remove each board and cut them with a chop saw. It was a real pain in the butt to remove the boards, cut and replace but it came out gooD.
Now for the other half, I am at that point where I am drawing the line where they all need to be cut. But I really dread removing all the boards and cut them individually. It would be so ideal if I could cut them in place. Is there such a thing as a skill saw that would let me get that close to the house to make the cut. It would take one minute to do this. I looked up mini skill saw and found 4.5 inch that would cut through the wood but none of them are thin enough. I need the blade to be no more than 3/4” from the house. All of the ones I looked at seem like they are a full inch and that is too wiDe of a gap from the house. Is there something out there that can make the cut or am I subjected to having to remove all the boards again like the other half?
Possibly an angle grinder with the right blade, or a jigsaw, reciprocating saw, oscillating saw. Easiest thing would have been to cut them 3/4" shorter before installing them but apparently that ship has sailed.
I did the right side completely. The hardest part is where the deck meets the house. I had to cut the boards so they were up against the house. Then I drew a line so that they were about 3/4” from the house. I then had to remove each board and cut them with a chop saw. It was a real pain in the butt to remove the boards, cut and replace but it came out gooD.
I hope the boards were dried thoroughly. Otherwise, in a few months, you are going to watch your very nicely done carpentry work look like crap, as they will shrink up different amounts.
I hope the boards were dried thoroughly. Otherwise, in a few months, you are going to watch your very nicely done carpentry work look like crap, as they will shrink up different amounts.
Yeah... and people are paying pro deck outfits thousands of dollars for that.
Possibly an angle grinder with the right blade, or a jigsaw, reciprocating saw, oscillating saw. Easiest thing would have been to cut them 3/4" shorter before installing them but apparently that ship has sailed.
I could not do it it that way because I had to line up the angled cuts down the middle so they met the other side. It was more important that the the spacing down the center was uniform I would worry about the edges later. That's where I am now. I don't want to use a Sawzall. Too sloppy. I thought about a jigsaw but not sure if it would make it. I will look into the oscillating saw. Thanks.
Cut the ends of the boards that are going to be against the house first, butt them up against the house with your desired gap, nail down that end only, then mark and cut the other end in place. Set your saw blade to just barely cut through the deck board, use a sacrificial thin piece of plywood underneath. You certainly ought to be able to lift a nailed board several feet long enough to slip your piece of sacrificial plywood under it. Of course the boards that hang off the end are no problem, just strike a chalk line and cut them in place. If the pattern ends up giving you some wee little end boards, use offcuts if you can; those aren't such a big deal to put them down and take them back up.
I'd probably use double headed nails, get everything right, drive a few screws, pull the nails, drive the rest of the screws using the nail holes as pilot holes.
Lesson number 1- you’ve already learned, so no reason to rehash.
Lesson number 2- use the right tools for the job at hand. Clearly, using a “chopsaw” is not the right tool for the sake of time and energy. Think circular saw.
Lesson number 3- if you already know the angle of the cuts, half the job is already done- the other half is the length. Go back to lesson 2, “right tools”- one is a speed square, the other is called a tape measure.
Lesson number 4- by your description, I’ll assume that the side you have already done is the mirror image of the side to be done. Are we following along with this logic?
Apply lesson 3 with lesson 4 and you should be able to knockout every board in a matter of mins!
I could not do it it that way because I had to line up the angled cuts down the middle so they met the other side. It was more important that the the spacing down the center was uniform I would worry about the edges later. That's where I am now. I don't want to use a Sawzall. Too sloppy. I thought about a jigsaw but not sure if it would make it. I will look into the oscillating saw. Thanks.
If I were to attempt to accomplish what you're suggesting I think I'd make a *** to guide the cut and use a Japanese-style pull saw (a ryoba.) I know hand tools are normally slow and a PITA but these work quite quickly.
I just love when someone asks a question on here and people give a lot of "what to do yesterday" answers.
It is a real PIA to accomplish what you need.
Maybe the answer is to buy a cheap circular saw and cut off that portion of the guide which sticks out more than 3/4 of an inch from the inside edge of the blade. Lowes looks to sell a 7 1/4" Skil corded saw for $40. That alone might be the best $40 you ever spent. The outside edge of the blade guard to the inside edge of the blade is likely just about your 3/4 inch, so it might work. You might need to improvise attachment of the flat plate after you cut it off, or maybe you don't even need to cut it back so far that the attachment to the saw case is challenged.
*** jigsaw, angle grinder, etc will leave mess as there is no base against which to operate. None of us here are that steady as to make a perfect straight cut "by hand".
Lesson number 1- you’ve already learned, so no reason to rehash.
Lesson number 2- use the right tools for the job at hand. Clearly, using a “chopsaw” is not the right tool for the sake of time and energy. Think circular saw.
Lesson number 3- if you already know the angle of the cuts, half the job is already done- the other half is the length. Go back to lesson 2, “right tools”- one is a speed square, the other is called a tape measure.
Lesson number 4- by your description, I’ll assume that the side you have already done is the mirror image of the side to be done. Are we following along with this logic?
Apply lesson 3 with lesson 4 and you should be able to knockout every board in a matter of mins!
It turns out that it is not identical but close. There are two 2x6 headers(?) butted together that go down the middle and split the two sections. I did one side first. So I lined up the other side and realized something wasn’t right. Each board should have been in the same position as in the first side but they didn’t. I believe there is an extra inch or so width on the left side. That changed everything. If a board is a 1/4” off, then by the time I get to the 20th board, I am way off. So I am trying to compensate for that. I got it real close to near perfect. I just have to get the boards that meet in the center lined up, which I have but I have them a bit longer so I need to cut them along the house. Measuring and cutting everything first wouldn’t work because the boards are not perfectly straight by just laying them there. A couple slightly angle upward. So they all need to be screwed down to be in place. Would be great to just zip down the line without removing each and cutting on the line. The two edges will be easy to do with the circular saw like I did on the other half.
Anyway, I appreciate everyone’s input but I am not looking for any advice ot opinions on this. I just wanted to know if there was a tool available that I was not aware of. I a, not a carpenter by any stretch so I don’t know exactly what is available. That is all I asked for. I got the rest covered.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
